Private services as a driver Zurich accounts for a fifth of Swiss GDP
The cantons of Zurich, Bern, Vaud and Geneva account for almost half of Switzerland's economic output - Zurich alone for a good fifth. Zurich's service sector even accounts for a quarter of all services in Switzerland.
27.04.2026, 10:15
27.04.2026, 10:44
SDA
According to a study published on Monday by Zürcher Kantonalbank focusing on the Zurich economy, private services are the driving force behind this. These account for around 70 percent of the canton's GDP.
Zurich's share of total economic output and value creation in Switzerland is 21 percent. The eleven largest cantons generate 80 percent of the country's GDP and the remaining 15 cantons 20 percent.
Zurich is growing more slowly than Switzerland
However, Zurich's average growth in the recent past was lower than that of Switzerland (+1.7%) between 2008 and 2022, with an average increase of 1.3%. The ZKB attributes this to the canton's economic structure, in which the employment-intensive service sector is overrepresented with typically lower growth rates than in the industrial sector. For the same reason, Zurich's productivity growth is also lagging behind.
However, according to the ZKB, productivity levels in Zurich are already high. Value added per hour worked is therefore 5 percent above the Swiss average, which makes further gains difficult. At CHF 104,000, per capita GDP is also around 16% above the Swiss average of CHF 90,000.
In the short term, too, Zurich has recently performed weaker than Switzerland as a whole. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Zurich economy grew by 0.3% compared to the previous year, according to the Zurich Economic Indicator, while Switzerland as a whole grew by 0.5%. The forecasts for the first quarter of 2026 do not yet show any significant increase in momentum for Zurich either.
"FIFA effect" causes volatility
The "FIFA effect" is known to have a noticeable impact on GDP in Zurich. Whenever the world football association based in Zurich holds a World Cup, it generates high revenues from broadcasting and brand rights and thus has a strong influence on Zurich's GDP. According to a rough calculation, the sporting event effect accounts for between 0.7 and 1.0 percentage points in Zurich, compared to just 0.3 percentage points in Switzerland as a whole.
